Nov. 13 - Parents/Childhood

Not a lot of people know that Kaidan Alenko was a child prodigy.

Not in the way that most people think though. People now only see the second human Spectre, brilliant biotics that can tear through a tank with ease. He now gives the impression that he was born for the military life, a career man from the beginning.

This was not so. Young Kaidan Alenko had no intentions of ever joining the military, no intentions to follow in his father's footsteps.

He first picked up a violin when he was two years old and by the age of four he had started performing. When Kaidan played, his music filled the air without effort. A crescendo of beauty, able to make stones weep and call to your very soul. As he played, you would lose sense of everything but his music.

Successfully auditioning for the prestigious Chancellor's Conservatory of the Musical Arts at age six, Kaidan made his professional debut by age eight. He rapidly became widely known within professional music circles, his career seemingly set in stone by age eleven.

Then came the black suits, knocking on the door after school.

Then came the surgery, the L2 implant installed at the base of his skull.

Then came the migraines, debilitating and soul-destroying. The tendrils of the implant reached into his mind and devastated his musical soul.

Once healed from the surgery, the first time that Kaidan played his violin it triggered a migraine that kept him bedridden for two days. The second time that Kaidan played his violin he could barely stand the sound and vibrations, drilling directly into his skull via the implant. It took many more times of being incapacitated by the head-bursting pain that Kaidan accepted the truth.

The 'invitation' to Gagarin Station was almost a relief.

Nov. 14 - Alliance Training

When Kaidan applied to the Alliance he had a vague hope that they wouldn't require him to use his biotics. He knew it was a false hope, nevertheless he still felt a flash of annoyance when they required him to take a training course on using biotics in combat.

Talking to the brass directly had enabled him to skip the training course due to his involvement in Biotic Acclimation and Temperance Training, but of course it had opened an entirely new problem. Was he psychologically stable? Would the L2 implant cause him problems in the field? Would he be a vanguard or an adept? Kaidan didn't want to specialise in either.

Eventually they reached a compromise; Kaidan's interest in technology created a new speciality of sorts. Combining tech and biotics, the Sentinel class was rolled out. It suited Kaidan just fine, the support position enabling him to protect his squad and manipulate the battlefield. His training included technical expertise and medical skills; a focus on keeping his people alive rather than killing the enemy.

The only biotic skill that Kaidan focused on improving was his kinetic barriers; a skill that could be used to defend rather than to kill. He never wanted to use his biotics again if he could help it, but at least he could make sure he would never lose his control again.

He loathed being called a 'white knight' but this he could do.

Nov. 15 – Friendships

If there was one person that Kaidan never expected to become friends with, it was Wrex.

When he first met the krogan, he was more than a little intimidated. He'd readily admit too. Wrex was a prime specimen of the species; 7-foot-tall, weighing a little over 350kg and powerful biotics. The krogan was not someone he particularly wanted to offend.

Shepard liked to take Wrex and himself on ground missions; the krogan's brute force balanced his defensive tactics. They complimented each other nicely, making the trio an effective force.

What he didn't expect, was that he had inadvertently impressed the krogan. Turned out that Wrex had been watching him during combat, studying how he used his biotics.

The first time that Wrex even talked to him was in an elevator on the Citadel. Kaidan had honestly thought that the krogan was baiting him; asking who'd win in a fight between Shepard and himself. Caught off-guard, he'd sputtered a bit and watched as the krogan merely grinned at him.

Later, once again in an elevator, the krogan talked to him. This time he was caught off-guard for a vastly different reason.

"You've got impressive biotic power. Humans should never have switched to the weaker L3 implants."

Eyeing the krogan sideways, Kaidan choose his words carefully, "My headaches can be pretty bad and I'm one of the lucky L2 implants. L3's are safer."

Wrex shook his head, "You don't stop using a gun just because it has a little sting."

Kaidan just nodded, not particularly willing to get into a verbal fight with the reptilian alien.

All the same he found his mood unexpectedly lightened by the krogan's compliment. He hid his smile by looking out through the window, but Wrex caught it. He didn't say anything though, he knew how private the lieutenant was.

From there, it seemed that Wrex always had time for the younger man. On the Normandy, they somehow progressed from small talk in the cargo bay, to longer conversations over a glass of whiskey or ryncol when both were off-duty.

"Your biotics are coming along nicely. In the last fight it looked like you even surprised yourself."

Then came Virmire. It was a turning point for them both. The first time Kaidan ever saw Wrex in a rage (it was terrifying, he didn't know how Shepard managed to talk him down) and then Ashley.

It was because of her death that he found himself terribly drunk and practically hanging off the krogan as he sobbed. Wrex let him cry, slipping him cups of water between his whiskey gulps, taking the ryncol out of his hand and generally just sat there, grunting at his drunken rambles.

Kaidan wouldn't know it, but it was the krogan who put him in his sleeping pod that night. He woke up with a throbbing migraine and slept the next three days away under Chakwa's medical supervision.

Wrex greeted him when he finally emerged with a slap on the back and a comment about hair of the varren. Kaidan caught Shepard's grin and he knew that, although Ashley was gone, he was not.

Nov. 16 - Shore Leave

Kaidan really loved Shepard. He could not however, say the same about horror films. It was because of the first point however, that he found himself sitting with his partner, watching a horrible century's old film. Not something unusual, he had been subjected to many a "classic" horror film this way but apparently, it was this particular movie's 200th year anniversary and Shepard had insisted on celebrated it with him.

He cringed at the awful effects, resisted groaning at the awful one-liners and sighed at the horrible decisions the young adults in the movie made.

However, it was Shepard and their unrestrained joy, that made his night. His partner was glued to the holoscreen, thoroughly enjoying the old school stop motion special effects, while Kaidan tried hard to stay awake.

In the middle of the film, it was like Kaidan had an epiphany, "Hey Shepard…does that guy have the same name as Ash?"

"Yeh he does! Though to be fair, I reckon that 'Ash Williams' is a pretty common name."

"Huh."

Nov. 17 – Memories

He had always hoped to see his mother and Shepard sitting together, but not like this.

"And this is his fifth Halloween, he didn't want to be anything but a lamp post."

Shepard was grinning like crazy and Kaidan tried to bury his face into his hands.

"Oh! This is when Kaidan was about three years old and had just learned that plants didn't have brains and therefore couldn't be his friend...he didn't stop crying for a while after that."

Taking another long swig of his beer, Kaidan just sat back and prayed his mother would stop this unique form of hell soon.

Nov. 18 - Love Interest

The first time Kaidan fell in love with another boy, he didn't really realise it. It was sixth grade and he thought he just cared them for them, wanted to spend time with them but his heart fluttered every time Kaidan thought about him.

He'd had crushes on girls before, had done for years already. He couldn't imagine not liking girls.

By the eighth grade, Kaidan knew he wasn't gay. He also knew he wasn't straight. Alone, his fantasies frequently both sexes and both were beautiful in their own ways.

He remembered being told that bisexuals didn't exist, that he needed to make up his mind about whether he was straight or gay. Even bigots still existed in the 2160s.

As an adult, Kaidan knows now that it doesn't matter what people think. He's comfortable in his sexuality. He loves Shepard but somehow, Kaidan thinks that he would have fallen in love with the commander regardless of their gender.

He had fallen in love with Shepard's very soul.

Nov. 19 - Creator's Choice Friendships 2.0

Ashley was very light on her feet, quick kicks that Kaidan barely managed to block. All his concentration was on trying to simultaneously avoid her strikes while trying to predict what she was going to do next. She had him rapidly going into a defensive pose.

He tried to throw a quick jab to her face, but she countered by ducking and barrelling into his thighs. Before he knew it, he went from standing to being flipped on to his back, pinned and slightly dazed. The roof of the Normandy's cargo filled his vision as Ashley laughed at his stunned look.

"Okay, I knew you were good Ash but man, I didn't expect to barely be able to land a hit."

Ashley laughed, "Well LT, seems I can literally beat your ass."

Standing up, she moved to help Kaidan back onto his feet.

"Again," he grinned.

"What? Whoop your ass again?"

He laughed, "Let me surprise you."

They both fell into guard stance, fists raised as they breathed deep, studying the other. As before, it was Ash that struck first but this time Kaidan was ready.

She gasped when her eyes met his, bright blue orbs that radiated energy. For Kaidan, it was like time had slowed; his biotics flaring and her fist slowing. Easily sidestepping her, he raised his arms in a fluid motion and Ashley's body followed. His biotics lifted her into the air as if she weighed nothing.

For a moment he worried if he'd gone too far, the look of shock on her face as the biotics forced her to still and was about to cancel the technique completely when she suddenly started laughing.

"Fucking awesome LT! Didn't think you'd actually do it."

As he gently places her back on her feet, she smirks at him, "Just remember I can still whoop your ass the old-fashioned way," and winks as she walks off.

He really could have used a friend like Ash when he was a child.

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